Welcome to Since the Beginning

History of Lutherville

The history of the African American community in Lutherville mirrors the African American community in East Towson and Sandy Bottom as far as its beginning. It is believed that the manumitted slaves from the Hampton Mansion in Towson, or other slave holding White estates in the Towson area, remained in the general area of Towson in search of employment. Unlike East Towson, these African Americans probably resided in tenant houses on the property of the owners that they worked for, yet as time went on, some found land in the Lutherville area that they were able to build their homes on, or were able to find houses to rent in the same general area.
The neighborhoods that the African Americans resided in were called “Up On The Hill (area near Upper Bellona Avenue); “Cross The Tracka (area near Railroad Avenue), and “Down The Back Road (area near Lower Bellona Avenue).

	Edgewood United Methodist Church. Built around 1870, The land for the church was given by a Mr. George I. Richardson. The land was located on the edge of the woods, hence the name of the church, Edgewood.
	Bernice Brown with Buster Dorsey sitting on the fender of the car. The photograph was taken in front of the Lincoln home on Lincoln Avenue in Lutherville. Photograph was taken in the 1920s.
	William T. Adams, working on a farm in Lutherville. The photograph was taken in the 1940s.
	The African American school house on School Lane in Lutherville. The school services the African American children in the Lutherville area from1909 until the early 1950s. In the 1990s, the school was sold to Arthur and Helen Chapman and converted to a museum.